AddictedOffroad
New member
This is an interesting one for sure. Some of you may remember my old 88' 4runner that I built in 2008 and started basing my original bumpers off of. It had the original "Lambo Tire carrier" that was built.
This one:
Anyway, I sold it in 2009 to a guy in Reno. It was an 88' 3VZ, 5spd and its one of the rigs I miss the most out of all of them that I have built. I drove it all over the country and it was as built as they come, and as clean as they come. Dual cases, 30sp Longs, Detroits F&R, etc. Anyway, I decided to build another one. I am going to twist it up a little this time though.
So, I found a 89' 4runner in Hesperia, CA on Pirate4x4. Clean, original, glossy paint just the like the last one. 3VZ, 5spd, bone stock. One interesting detail though. It had 577K miles on it. Seriously. How many 577K 3.0L 4runners do you think are still on the road these days? Especially one this well taken care of? Most people would have run from that kind of mileage. But, I jumped on it. Its got 579K on it now!
Interior needs some minor work. New front seats, stereo, just minor TLC.
The motor recently had the heads gone through them. No clue if its original or not, but who cares. It runs great to be honest. A/C blows ice cold. I just flew into SoCal yesterday morning and drove this 4runner 1000 miles back to NE Colorado. I calculated the mileage off my GPS (so I know its spot on) and much to my amazement it averaged 19.5mpg for the entire trip running 80mph. I never thought anything over 17hwy was possible in a 3.0L.
op2:
Its got some newish unbalanced 31" Michelins on it. Not a single wheel weight on one of them. It made for a bumpy ride. But between 78-81mph it smoothed out nicely. lol
Anyway, here is the plan. Its getting a Diamond front axle. 8" Diff, mini truck outers, F&R Grizzly Lockers, 5.29s, 3-Linked front end. Leaf'd rear end.
So, the motor seems solid IMO. And, even though it seems decent on power in stock form, its going to need more. So, eventually this will get a 3.4L swap done to it. And, likely a supercharger at some point.
This will be a slow build in my free time. But, I do plan to at least get a front plate bumper on it this week at the shop.
This one:
Anyway, I sold it in 2009 to a guy in Reno. It was an 88' 3VZ, 5spd and its one of the rigs I miss the most out of all of them that I have built. I drove it all over the country and it was as built as they come, and as clean as they come. Dual cases, 30sp Longs, Detroits F&R, etc. Anyway, I decided to build another one. I am going to twist it up a little this time though.
So, I found a 89' 4runner in Hesperia, CA on Pirate4x4. Clean, original, glossy paint just the like the last one. 3VZ, 5spd, bone stock. One interesting detail though. It had 577K miles on it. Seriously. How many 577K 3.0L 4runners do you think are still on the road these days? Especially one this well taken care of? Most people would have run from that kind of mileage. But, I jumped on it. Its got 579K on it now!
Interior needs some minor work. New front seats, stereo, just minor TLC.
The motor recently had the heads gone through them. No clue if its original or not, but who cares. It runs great to be honest. A/C blows ice cold. I just flew into SoCal yesterday morning and drove this 4runner 1000 miles back to NE Colorado. I calculated the mileage off my GPS (so I know its spot on) and much to my amazement it averaged 19.5mpg for the entire trip running 80mph. I never thought anything over 17hwy was possible in a 3.0L.
op2:Its got some newish unbalanced 31" Michelins on it. Not a single wheel weight on one of them. It made for a bumpy ride. But between 78-81mph it smoothed out nicely. lol
Anyway, here is the plan. Its getting a Diamond front axle. 8" Diff, mini truck outers, F&R Grizzly Lockers, 5.29s, 3-Linked front end. Leaf'd rear end.
So, the motor seems solid IMO. And, even though it seems decent on power in stock form, its going to need more. So, eventually this will get a 3.4L swap done to it. And, likely a supercharger at some point.
This will be a slow build in my free time. But, I do plan to at least get a front plate bumper on it this week at the shop.
